The Sydney suburbs more crowded than parts of New York City

Overseas migration is driving Sydney’s record population growth with the city absorbing more than 100,000 new residents every year.

Some of Sydney’s most crowded postcodes now have densities higher than parts of New York City – and the outer suburbs are catching up.

For example, northwest suburb Kellyville Ridge was once a quiet, spacious area. Now those who moved to the suburb for space find themselves in the thick of it with density up almost 700 per cent since 2001.

Kellyridge was once filled with open paddocks (left). Now the same spot is unrecognisable just years later. Source: 7News

“There’s a lot more people coming in, traffic is becoming a lot more horrendous than it use to be,” one worried resident told 7News.

“I could see the main road from my house but it’s all roofs now,” another said.

Inner-city spots areamong Sydney’s most crowded, but the outer suburbs are absorbing the population growth.

“Housing affordability is driving much of this and people are looking for apartment living because it’s cheaper than homes,” demographer Mark McCrindle said.

Sydney’s population is increasing by 100,000 each year. Source: Getty

Several western suburbs have now surpassed The Rock’s population. Source: 7News

“The further out you go, the lower the cost of those apartments.”

Kingsford, Lakemba and Wiley Park now have more people per square kilometre than The Rocks’ 7212 inhabitants.

Other alarming areas include Concord West, whose population increased by 139 per cent between 2001 and 2017, and Homebush, whose shot up 142 per cent for the same period.